OBSERVING HOLIDAYS
It is not my goal or purpose to cause anyone to stop celebrating any of these holidays. My only intent is to present the truth about them and hope that our greatest desire will be to glorify Christ in everything we do.
EASTER - Does Observing Easter Glorify Christ?
What is Easter? Easter Sunday is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the calendar. The First Council of Nicaea (325) established the date of Easter as the first Sunday after the full moon (the Paschal Full Moon) following the vernal equinox. Ecclesiastically, the equinox is reckoned to be on March 21 (regardless of the astronomically correct date), and the "Full Moon" is not necessarily the astronomically correct date. The date of Easter therefore varies between March 22 and April 25.
Easter Sunday is defined to be the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox (March 21, which is the first day of spring)? Have you ever wondered why an event of such revered status should be subject to the variations of the sun and moon?
The answer is easily verified in any encyclopedia. The time, the customs, and the traditions of Easter all come from ancient pagan, anti-Christian, religious celebrations. Easter was originally a pagan festival in honor of the Goddess of Spring. It is amazing how something as pagan as the original Easter festivals could now be thought to glorify Jesus Christ.
Listen to what the prophet Jeremiah wrote on this subject more than 2,600 years ago: "Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them." (Jeremiah 10:2)
Sunrise worship services didn't originate with Christian churches. They have been a part of pagan practices that predate Christianity by thousands of years. The prophet Ezekiel was shown the following abominations that were practiced in Israel about 2,500 years ago: "Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them." (Ezekiel 8:15-18)
Isn't it interesting that in order to participate in that sunrise worship service, those chosen men of Israel had to turn their backs on the temple of the LORD? They were not serving the Lord, but were involved in an abomination against him. We need to be very careful that we aren't doing the same thing.
In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 it says: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." ‘
Ask yourself where did the customs and traditions of Easter come from. How do bunny rabbits, colored eggs, baskets, new clothes, sunrise worship services, lilies, and all the other Easter traditions glorify Jesus Christ. Who told us to do these things? Are they part of being furnished unto all good works as we read above, or are they something other than good works.
Should Christians Celebrate Holy Days? I received the shock of my life one day when I asked a group of Christian people if they knew that Easter was a pagan holiday based on the principle that: "Easter Sunday is defined to be the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox (March 21, which is the first day of spring) would they still want to celebrate it. The vast majority of those present raided their hand and said they would still want to celebrate Easter.
We know the ancient heathen celebrations were an abomination to God, but surely the modern Christian versions glorify him. No they don't! Read what the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Galatia concerning celebrating holy days.
"But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain."
(Galatians 4:9-11)"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. "
(II Corinthians 11:3It should be evident that Easter is pagan. It has pagan origins, includes pagan traditions, and incorporates pagan practices that are expressly forbidden in the word of God. The question is, should Christians have any part in a pagan holiday? The Bible is very clear that they should not.
"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."
(Colossians 2:16,17)You can have the shadow in festivals, or the reality in Jesus Christ. The choice is yours. Jesus Christ is real! The salvation he provides is real! Christians should not celebrate the types, figures, and shadows of holy days and festivals. They should live out the reality of Jesus Christ, and the salvation he provides, in their lives.
How Should Christians Glorify Jesus Christ?
Christians are commanded to give their lives to Christ. This is much harder than simply celebrating his birth, death, and resurrection; so it isn't as popular. Only by yielding their lives to Jesus Christ and His word (the Bible), can Christians know the perfect will of God.
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
This verse should hold a great power over our lives. The Apostle Paul pleads with us, by the highest possible pleading, to live for God. He wants us to consider our bodies to be a living sacrifice. Paul is asking for our lives to be like the Jewish animal sacrifices, whose bodies were killed for the sake of the one making the offering. He wants us to consider ourselves dead to this world and therefore serve the Lord in everything we do.
Paul says that this is just our reasonable service, not the best we can do, but just our reasonable service. Christians should glorify Jesus Christ by living for him.
Won't you give your life to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ in everything that you do? Read the Bible. Seek out Christians that want to serve the Lord above everything else.
HALLOWEEN - Is there any good reason for a Christian to celebrate it?
For many children, Halloween is an evening of masquerading for "tricks or treats". For some it may be a relatively innocent evening, but for others it is not. It is not really an innocent "trick or treat" adventure in costumes that children and some parents love.
How much do you really know about this haunted holiday?... It has roots and overtones of Satanism and devil worship. The word "trick" carries with it a tragic and sometimes deadly meaning. Webster defines "trick" as "...something designed to swindle."
Could a more appropriate word be found to describe the methods employed by the Devil - the greatest swindler of all time? The Devil, the masterful trickster: "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works." (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).
The Origin of Halloween
Halloween and its practices are Pagan in origin. From the Encyclopedia Britannica: "In its strictly religious aspect, this occasion is known as the vigil of Hallowmas of All Saint's Day, Nov. 1, observed by the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. Pope Gregory III (731 to 741 AD) assigned this date for celebrating of the feast when he consecrated a chapel in Saint Peter's basilica to all the saints.
Gregory the IV extended the feast to the entire Roman Catholic church in 834 AD" "There is little doubt that the Roman Catholic¹ church sought to eliminate or supplant the Druid festival of the dead by introducing the alternative observance of All Saint's Day on Nov. 1."
"… after the Reformation, Protestants rejected this feast along with other important ones such as Christmas or Easter." - Colliers Encyclopedia
Associated through its name with Allhallows Eve. Popular secular observance of Halloween, falling on the night of Oct. 31, is derived from the rights of the Druids celebrating the day of Samhain (pronounced sow-en), the so called "lord of death", when the "Lord of Death" called together the souls of the wicked who had died during the past year. The theme of harvest, which runs through modern Halloween celebrations, comes from both the old Druidic celebrations and the old Roman festivals in honor of Pomona, goddess of fruit, brought to Britain during the Roman occupation."
God's Word Condemns such Pagan Practices
The Bible says much about the practices from which modern Halloween festivities are taken. The nation of Israel was specifically warned against the very same practices that are part of the modern Halloween.
Deuteronomy 18:9-12: "When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee."
Jeremiah 10:2: "Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them."
Commands to Christ's Church
Ephesians 5:11-12: "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret."
Do not let Satan neutralize your Christian walk, by mixing with it pagan or satanic practices. If it is not of God it is of the flesh and the world: " For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12)
Peter I 5:8: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"
1Timothy 4:1: "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;"
CHRISTMAS - Should Christians Celebrate "Christmas"?
Christmas is suppose to be a celebration honoring the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. By simply and honestly examining the history, the scriptures and the actual practices of Christmas, it may be easily seen that there is absolutely no Bible basis for celebrating the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
History of Christmas …where did it originate?
Nowhere in the word of God do we find anyone commemorating the birthday of the Lord Jesus, nor do we find any command to do so. Since God has told us that within the pages of His written word may be found all He would have us do to be perfect (mature) Christians before Him, and Christmas is not found there.
The Apostle Paul tells us in Timothy 3:16-17 that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."
It should be obvious that the celebration of Christmas did not originate with God and the Bible. Where did the mysterious rites and ceremonies that surround this day come from? What about the "Christmas tree" and the "Yule log" and the mistletoe and Holly wreaths? Are ANY of these customs truly "Christian" in origin? And what about fat and jolly old "Saint Nick" -- or Santa Claus?
The Origin of Christmas
December 25 is referred to in documents as Christmas Day as early as A.D. 324. Under the Roman emperor Justinian [A.D. 527-565] it was recognized as an official holiday. An old Roman festival played a major part in the choice of this particular day.
December 25 in ancient Rome was the 'Dies Natali Invictus,' 'the birthday of the unconquered,' the day of the winter solstice and at the same time, in Rome, the last day of the Saturnalia, which had long since degenerated into a week of unbridled carnival..."
Doesn't it seem rather strange that the so-called "Christian church" should choose a day to celebrate the Messiah's birth which was identified as the day of the birth of the unconquered sun, the day of the winter solstice, the "shortest day of the year," when the sunlit part of the days start becoming longer again? What does this have to do with the Messiah, anyway? Was Jesus the Messiah born anywhere near December 25?
Luke gives us some important information concerning the birth of Jesus: 'And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night' (Luke 2:8).
"Meteorologists have made exact recordings of the temperature at Bethlehem. According to all existing information the climate of Palestine has not changed appreciably in the last 2,000 years, consequently modern meteorological observations can be taken as a basis.
"At Christmas-time Bethlehem is in the grip of frost, and in the Promised Land no cattle or sheep would have been in the fields in that temperature. This fact is born out by a remark in the Talmud to the effect that in that neighborhood the flocks were put out to grass in March and brought in again at the beginning of November. They remained out in the open for almost eight months. "Around Christmas-time nowadays both animals and shepherds are under cover in Palestine.
Millions of Christians, who think they are celebrating the birth of Jesus the Messiah, have been deceived. Not only have they embraced erroneous "traditions" as if they were "Christian," but they have been lied to and misled.
Listen to the words of Jesus spoken in Matthew 15:7-9: "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
Does this not sound a lot like a lot of people who celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25?
Christianity took over the birthday of the sun god, the cult of the sun, and transformed it into CHRISTMAS DAY, the "birthday" of Jesus the Messiah! It was in reality the birth day of the pagan sun god, worshipped by millions throughout the Roman Empire!
Will Durant, renowned historian, in his massive work The Story of Civilization, wrote in volume III, entitled Caesar and Christ, that in the new "church" that developed in the Roman Empire, the Jewishness of Yeshua was lost or rejected, and replaced with Greek philosophy and thought; the "Law" of the Jews was rejected, and, he writes, "...the god Christ was assimilated to the religious and philosophical traditions of the Hellenistic mind. Now the PAGAN WORLD -- even the anti-Semitic world -- could accept him as its own.
"Paganism" was not defeated by the Church. It invaded the church, infiltrated it, and seduced it from within! The professing Christian Church became the "new face of paganism"! Only the "names" were changed. And in some cases -- as in "Easter" Sunday -- even the old pagan names were left in place!
In 1643, the Puritans, who regarded such celebrations as pagan, outlawed the observance of Christmas in England." Colonists in New England followed the English laws and also outlawed Christmas. But immigrants to the New World brought Christmas customs from many lands and the old festivities where soon restored.
All of the popular customs and traditions surrounding Christmas actually were celebrated at pagan mid-winter festivals thousands of years before Jesus was born. Admits this same encyclopedia, "The custom of burning the Yule log began with the ancient Scandinavians, who once a year burned a huge log in honor of their god Thor. After the Scandinavians became Christians [sic], they made the Yule log an important part of their Christmas ceremonies."